For over a decade, Blumhouse has been one of the leading studios for horror, producing a number of hits including Paranormal Activity, Insidious, Get Out, Halloween, and more. That’s why the handling of their latest project, Fantasy Island (based on the 1970s TV show of the same name), was so strange. Despite being one of the first major releases of 2020, the decision was made to bypass the usual Thursday night preview screenings ahead of opening weekend. Typically, that’s not a good sign for a film’s quality, and that unfortunately proves true in this case. Fantasy Island is a rare misfire for Blumhouse, putting a dull horror spin on the property that gets increasingly ridiculous as it moves along.

As Fantasy Island begins, five people - Melanie Cole (Lucy Hale), Gwen Olsen (Maggie Q), Patrick Sullivan (Austin Stowell), and stepbrothers JD (Ryan Hansen) and Brax (Jimmy O. Yang) - arrive at the titular resort after winning a contest for a weekend getaway. There, they meet the mysterious Mr. Roarke (Michael Peña), who coordinates the fantasies for all of the guests. Roarke tells the group that they must see their individual fantasy through to its natural conclusion, but when they all don’t go as envisioned, everyone looks to figure out the island’s secrets and find a means of escape.

The script, co-written by director Jeff Wadlow, Chris Roach, and Jillian Jacobs, is the biggest weakness Fantasy Island can’t overcome. Cramming four unique fantasies (JD and Brax share one with each other) into under two hours hamstrings the film. Each one could potentially carry its own movie, doing a deep dive into character motivations and themes, but as it stands none of the fantasies are fleshed out enough to make a notable impact. This is frustrating, as a couple of them do have compelling hooks to draw people in (for example, Patrick’s fantasy is to enlist in the military in honor of his late father), but everything is so surface level, the intended emotional beats fall flat. Making matters worse is the fact crucial background information is told, rather than shown, limiting how invested viewers can get in the various stories. It feels like the writers tried to combine four different Fantasy Island scripts into a single movie, rather than choosing one to develop further.

For most of its running time, Fantasy Island is rather disjointed as it bounces between fantasies that are disconnected from each other, lacking any real sense of narrative cohesion. Wadlow tries to make up for this flaw in the third act, but his attempts to bring everything together are extremely contrived and the film gets more ludicrous and confusing as it builds to its conclusion. This would be forgivable if Fantasy Island at least contained some entertaining set pieces that delivered scary genre thrills, but they’re all relatively tame so the movie can achieve its desired PG-13 rating. As a result, the action is more boring than terrifying, and Fantasy Island is a horror film without much bite. This isn’t to say an R-rating would have fixed the glaring weaknesses in the storytelling, but it might have made Fantasy Island a more fun watch on a superficial level.

Acting wise, none of the performances in Fantasy Island really stand out, as the cast is tasked with bringing thin, two-dimensional characters to life. Even Peña appears to be going through the motions in his portrayal of the enigmatic Roarke. Hansen and Yang represent the closest things the ensemble has to a bright spot, showcasing the close bond the stepbrothers have with one another. Their interactions - while stock for a film like this - are still fun to watch and the actors have good chemistry together. But ultimately, the Fantasy Island is too overstuffed for its own good, giving the cast little time to do much with the material given to them. It’s disappointing, as some of the names here have displayed impressive chops in the past (Peña and Michael Rooker especially), so audiences know they’re capable of more.

Much like Wadlow’s previous Blumhouse collaboration, 2018’s Truth or Dare, Fantasy Island is one of the studio’s weaker films and doesn’t have much to offer for even die-hard genre fans. Particularly with the likes of other horror titles such as The Invisible Man and A Quiet Place Part II on the horizon, Fantasy Island is a difficult one to recommend, and it isn’t worth the trip to the theater. On-paper, transforming the old Fantasy Island TV show into a full-fledged horror movie with the moral of “be careful what you wish for” sounded intriguing, but poor execution and screenwriting prevented this one from reaching its full potential.

More: Watch the Fantasy Island Official Trailer

Fantasy Island is now playing in U.S. theaters. It runs 109 minutes and is rated PG-13 for violence, terror, drug content, suggestive material, and brief strong language.

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  • Fantasy Island Release Date: 2020-02-14